At the End of This Fight
by Bullet2tm
Summary: Drabbles that are all one story. Different sides and different stories. Its a mixture of stories that end up as one. Please read and review as I've never done this before.
1. Will it ever end?

**A/N: **_I know! I have the other stories to finish, but a forum I went to inspired me to do this. I'm sorry to those who like Ichiruki, but, I'm afraid to say that Ichigo is meant to be with Orihime, they're just matched perfectly! These are drabbles, but each chapter will go toward the ending, as in, this story is partly a story and partly drabbles._

**At the end of this fight...**

**Chapter 1: Will it ever end?**

* * *

"Strike me with all you have, Inoue!" screamed the black haired Shinigami.

"_Koten Zanshun, I reject!_" screamed Inoue.

Tsubaki flew out of the placid form of her hair pins and came alive. He raced toward Rukia and rebounded off her blade.

"Woman, there was not enough _want _in that attack!" he yelled at her.

Orihime sighed as Tsubaki resumed his place in her hair.

Rukia sighed. "That's enough for today, Nii-sama has tea for us at home, do you want to come?" she asked.

Orihime nodded. "Thank you Kuchiki-sama," she said smiling.

The walk was silent, but their mutual friendship had now grown into something akin to close friends. "How old are you Inoue?" asked Rukia suddenly, as they arrived at the Kuchiki manor.

Orihime leaned her head sidewards in thought and put her index finger to her pursed lips. "I think I'm twenty..."

Rukia sweat dropped. "You don't know your own age? I'm over one hundred years old, but even I know my age..."

"Yes, twenty. I'm the same age as Kurosaki-kun," she said nodding.

The girls made their way across the perfect lawn of the Kuchiki residence and found a large table with food across it with some lanterns lighting the area. Orihime's eyes lit up.

"Oh Kuchiki-san! Look at all the foods I can mix together to make a wonderous meal! I can even do some for you, oh look! There is bean paste here, and icecream, and rice paddies!" she exclaimed, running over to the table, her breasts bouncing wildly as she did so.

Rukia smirked. She realised that Orihime was such a light, kind, caring and funny person. How could anyone do her wrong? And she loved being her friend, it always made her feel much happier once she saw Orihime, she was just that kind of person.

Rukia's eyes suddenly widened and then she had a sickly feeling. "Inoue, that is disgusting! I don't know what happened to your tastebuds but I think that you may have gone off the deep end..."

"Kuchiki-san, if you just tried it, you would be filled with such delight! Not even the aliens would want to take me away! Kurosaki-kun has tried it and he said it was great," said Orihime, now filling her mouth with her 'creation'.

Rukia narrowed her eyes playfully. "Really? He told you that? Ichigo actually said that he liked it?" she asked.

"That I liked what?" asked a deep voice from behind the two women.

A tall figure with bright orange hair stood behind Rukia, scowling at the short woman.

"Did you tell Orihime you liked her food?" she asked.

His eyes widened slightly. "Um, yeah, I mean, yes it's okay," he lied, rubbing the back of his head with one of his hands awkwardly.

Rukia narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but left it alone.

"Anyway..." began Ichigo, but was cut off by a familiar riatsu that had appeared behind him.

Someone had shunpo'd behind him and Ichigo turned to see who it was. The two women also turned curiously. "Thank you Kuchiki-san for the food," said Orihime smiling brightly at the person, realising who it was.

"It is of no consequence, however, I did not permit the Substitute Shinigami to attend," he said stoicly; his eyes turning toward Rukia pointedly.

"Sorry, Nii-sama, I wasn't expecting him," she bowed, dipping her head seriously.

"Excuse me? I can be here if I want, you bastard," he said, narrowing his eyes at the dark haired Captain.

The Captain matched his eyes at this response and inched his zanpakuto out of its sheath slightly. "Do you care to refrase?"

"Tch. What ever. I just came to escort Inoue back from Soul Society, since its late," Ichigo said, not wanting to start a fight.

Orihime nodded, stuffing her rice cake, icecream and red bean paste concoction into her mouth unceremoniously. She followed Ichigo out of the compound with Rukia and Byakuya staring after them.

"What has she learned?" asked the Senbonzakura weilder curiously.

Rukia smiled genuinely, watching the two converse as they walked away.

"Enough to make her not as useless as she felt," said Rukia. "Her power is unique and I can see why Aizen took her. Tsubaki is as powerful as her wishes."

Byakuya frowned and Rukia saw this. "If she wants to protect someone badly enough, her resolve is the power of Tsubaki. If she wanted to save the world or protect someone she loves, Tsubaki will be _that_ powerful, there is no limit."

Her brother's eyes widened slightly at this revelation. "Then you better make sure Captain Kurotsuchi doesn't get his hands on her."

Rukia smiled. _Was...that a joke?_ she thought, looking up to her brother with a curious look in her eye.

Byakuya looked down at his sister with his usual emotionless look, but, it was placid. After all, there hadn't been much action since the fight with Aizen Sousuke, so it had been quite peaceful around Sereitei. However, Aizen had left a lot of paperwork in his wake.

* * *

"...and then I ate these little sushi cakes, but I took out the meat and put icecream in the middle!" exclaimed the light hearted Orihime.

Ichigo sweat dropped a little. _How can she eat all that? _He looked at her up and down and thought how tiny she was, and yet, she ate like a 200 pound man.

"Sounds great, Inoue..." he said, starting to feel ill inside.

She looked up to Ichigo as they walked toward the gate that Kisuke had set up. She was admiring him; she always did, but he probably didn't even notice.

Orihime smiled at him softly. "I've never really thanked you," she began, causing the Substitute Shinigami to frown in confusion.

"For what?" he asked, scratching his head.

"I-well, for coming to save me," said Orihime, looking away and toward their destination.

Ichigo began to realise her odd behaviour and shook his head.

"Don't, Inoue," he said softly, stopping in his tracks. He smiled warmly at her. "It was a long time ago."

Orihime did the same and they were left standing there, in the middle of the 6th Division, just staring at each other.

_Why does she always do this? Always being thankful?_ he thought.

It had been a while since a huge battle had occurred in any of the two worlds - Soul Society or the Real World. In fact, he was actually thinking of starting to study at University soon. Maybe the fight had ended, maybe he didn't need to be the strongest anymore. He shook his head.

_Not yet, I'm the Substitute Shinigami after all,_ he thought.

They ran quickly through the gate and arrived at their destination in a matter of minutes. Karakura Town. The brisk air of the Real World reached their bodies quickly as they set themselves down onto the ground. It was just about sun set in their home town and Orihime yawned, stretching her arms high above her head.

Ichigo paid no mind to this and instead, faced the sunset. No matter where he went, this town always had his heart.

"C'mon Inoue, its time to get you home," he said.

The healer nodded and they both walked home together.

As they neared Orihime's flat, he stopped at her doorstep and said good night.

"Kurosaki-kun, did you want to come in?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in anticipation to his answer.

"Um..."

"I could make you something to eat, since you've probably missed your family dinner because of me...sorry Kurosaki-kun," she said solemnly, realising what she had done.

This comment first made him feel ill just thinking of what she would cook him, but then he shook his head. "I told you not to say sorry for something you haven't done, didn't I? I was sparring with Renji and got carried away, that's all."

"Oh, but if I hadn't..." she began, but saw that Ichigo began to scowl; not at her, but at the fact she was about to justify as to why it was her fault again. "I could make you some stir fry instead, completely..._plain._"

Ichigo was about to refuse when his stomach rumbled. He sweat dropped, smiling awkwardly. "Ah, yeah sure."

He stepped into her flat and she closed the door.

For a while he really thought she was going to feed him some weird concoction, but, he was mistaken. In fact, she seemed to know what was 'normal' and what wasn't. She obviously chose to eat the way she did to make it more interesting, but could obviously see that he liked things differently.

Time went by fast, in fact, he felt so at ease around her. She didn't demand anything of him, laughed at his jokes and smiled at his anecdotal stories. If he was with Rukia, she would have bashed him by now. If he was with Renji, he would have called him a dumb bastard by now. If he was with his father, he would have been having a sparring match right now at the dinner table. But then again, he always seemed to ask for it. But that's what friends and family did, but Orihime she was...what was she?

_A friend, obviously,_ he thought, answering his own question.

He watched as the girl of his thoughts grabbed his plates and placed them in the sink. As she walked back, she slipped. His eyes widened slightly for fear of her clumsy ways. He quickly shunpo'd to her position, catching her before she hit her head on the corner of the sink. They were at close proximity at the moment with Ichigo's arm behind her neck and his other arm wrapped underneath her knees, supporting her.

"Are you okay...Inoue?" he asked softly.

Orihime nodded, but began to blush slightly. Ichigo noticed this, but had always wondered why she did that. "T-thank you, Kurosaki-kun. You shunpo pretty fast now."

"Tch. You've got no idea," he said, lifting her off the ground and placing her delicately on the couch. "After all the battles and saving _you _all the time, I've gotten pretty good."

Orihime Inoue smiled, but deep down her thoughts consisted of one thing. _Do I really get in the way all the time?_

She lifted her hand and cupped his cheek softly, smiling. "Arigato, Kurosaki-kun."

The orange haired shinigami frowned. An odd feeling arose within him at her soft touch just now. _What is this?_ he thought as he pulled away.

He sat on the floor watching her as she fell asleep. They always did this kind of thing lately. He would have dinner at Inoue's after a long day of battling Hollows or fighting with Renji or after her training with Rukia. But usually someone was there with them. Rukia favoured Orihime's sushi, Renji liked her stir fry, Matsumoto loved all of Orihime's odd flavours of food and Kisuke (whom she had around rarely) didn't eat anything she cooked.

But tonight just felt...different. Ichigo couldn't understand what had occurred tonight, but it changed his thoughts about her forever.

* * *

"Ichigooooo!" yelled a joyous Keigo, with Mizuiro close behind on his mobile.

"Don't start Keigo..." growled Ichigo with a scowl on his face. He was about to punch the poor guy out, but a familiar rieatsu caught his attention. Actually, two familiar ones, but only one he _really_ noticed.

"Ichigo, you baka!" yelled the gruff voice of his best friend. Suddenly pain caught his attention, coming from his arm. "Damn it you evil bitch, what was that for?"

"Hello Kuchiki-san," said Orihime, smiling brightly.

Rukia's demeanor softened for a moment as she nodded to her kind friend. However, this was temporary as she turned back toward Ichigo with her eyes narrowed to mere slits. "Did you forget your manners yesterday? Nii-sama was oozing with anger after you left..."

"Well, he shouldn't have been an asshole to me!" he yelled, narrowing his eyes back at the dark haired shinigami, moving closer to show he meant what he said.

Orihime stood back, smiling slightly. Their arguments made her feel nostalgic; back to when they were in high school. Her facial features showed happiness and content, and yet, deep inside, she wanted to tell Ichigo what she felt before he found someone else. She was a bit jealous of what Ichigo had with Rukia, but she always supressed it because she just wanted Ichigo to be happy.

_Especially after what I put him through,_ she thought.

"Oh, Hime, I haven't seen you in so long, and yet, you get more and more beautiful!" began Keigo, but wasn't looking at her face.

Suddenly he was sent flying in the opposite direction, falling into a heap in the gutter. Ichigo's fist had connected with his face, the moment he saw that pervert eying Orihime's...well, he couldn't even say the word.

Of course, Orihime's face was full of concern for Keigo.

"He'll be right, Inoue," said Rukia, who came up behind Ichigo with a smile. Obviously Ichigo and herself had finished their argument.

"Who are we waiting for?" asked Ichigo, turning toward Rukia. The others looked up, some of them about to answer, however were interrupted.

"You've never been a patient man, have you Kurosaki?" murmured that _familiar_ haughty voice.

"Damn you, Ishida you pompous bastard," said Ichigo, narrowing his eyes at the Quincy, who was alongside Chad.

"Hello Ishida-kun, Sado-kun!" exclaimed Orihime, waving vigorously.

Ishida was about to retort back to Ichigo, but saw Orihime's beaming face and his smiled kindly. "Orihime-san, its a pleasure," he nodded.

"Hello Inoue," said Chad, smiling also.

"Well, we just have to wait for Tatsuki-chan," said the healer. She looked to Ichigo who began to scowl. "Aww, Kurosaki-kun, turn that frown upside down!"

The others looked to Ichigo who had stopped scowling immediately, in fact, his scowl had turned into what some people would call a semi-smile.

"So, you _are_ tamed then," said Ishida snidely.

"Watch it, Quincy! You damned bastard!" he yelled, turning toward the black four eyed man, dressed in a suit. "And what the hell are you wearing? We're not going to a dance."

Ishida hadn't even bothered to look at Ichigo, and instead pushed his glasses upward with one stroke of his index finger. "Don't be jealous, Kurosaki, I just have more style."

Orihime giggled at the two. "You two just reminded me of a dream I had once, except it was two fluffy bears. One scowled at the other had glasses. They were such rivals, however, their friendship was very strong. They always picked on each other. But then the aliens came and took them away..."

They both smiled awkwardly. "Ah...that's great, Inoue," said Ichigo, smiling oddly. _Like I'd be friends with a bastard like him! The only good thing he's ever done for me was save you from Yammy back in Las Noches..._ he thought, reminiscing. But they weren't good thoughts. The whole time he was thinking he should have been stronger so Orihime wouldn't have been in a situation like that. In fact, his thoughts back then made him ill, and caused him to fight carelessly against Ulquiorra at first.

His attention came back to reality when Tatsuki arrived.

He watched as Orihime got dragged away by Tatsuki, Chizuru, Rukia and Matsumoto as they laughed animatedly and walked in the opposite direction toward the shops.

"Stare much Kurosaki?" cut in Uryuu.

A scowl formed on Ichigo's face. "What the hell are you talking about?" he exclaimed, his chocolate orbs glinting in the sun.

"Tch. You're an idiot Ichigo," sneered Renji, who walked up behind them with Toushiro.

This didn't help Ichigo's demeanor but was also curious as to why the Hyourinmaru weilder had come. After all, it was nothing to do with _work_.

"Why are you here Toushiro?" asked Ichigo with a frown upon his face.

The said Captain's eye twitched with anger. "How many times do I have to tell you its _Captain_ to _you_?!!" he yelled agressively.

Renji smirked. "He's on duty here at the moment," explained Renji.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "A Captain? On duty in Karakura Town?" asked Ichigo with skepticism.

"Enough, Ichigo," said a deep voice from behind him. It was Chad. "Are we going to the movies?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah."

"So, Kurosaki. What are you going to do with yourself now that things are settling down?" asked Ishida.

They now formed two rows and began their walk from the park area toward the CBD of Karakura Town.

The orange haired man was at a loss for words. Of course he didn't know. He figured he'd be doing _this_ forever. However, he had some thoughts, especially of late. Thoughts of becoming a doctor maybe? Or perhaps in the police? A place where he could help or serve justice for people.

"What about your future?" asked Uryuu. "Have you been dating?"

The shinigami immediately blushed and narrowed his eyes at his rival. "What the hell?"

"Its a true question, Ichigo," nodded Renji in agreement. "You're turning twenty one this year am I right? What the hell have you been doing?"

Suddenly all eyes were on him and again he couldn't think of something to say. He wondered what Orihime was doing and hoped no Hollows were out today. But he bet she was having a better time than he was so far.

"Well, what about you _Renji_? Have you seen Rukia lately?" asked Ichigo, turning the conversation around.

Renji scowled. "Yeah, so what? We are child hood friends!" exclaimed Renji. "Plus, I haven't had time to ask her out, after all, I still haven't defeated Byakuya."

Ichigo sighed. "Well, what the hell have _you_ been doing Renji?"

Renji narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Don't start...I'll take you down right here, right now!" he exclaimed with a fist in the air to make his point. But deep down knowing he wouldn't.

He remembered watching Ichigo fight in Hueco Mundo and he knew at that stage that Ichigo had surpassed him by miles. He was stronger than his Captain, stronger than the Espada, stronger than anyone he'd ever known.

"Well, Kurosaki, now that you have annoyed almost everyone here, will you answer my question?" asked Uryuu. "I have been dating for a while now, I've almost finished my University Degree as well."

Ichigo didn't bother to look at Ishida.

"Well, some people don't get almost 100% in all their classes and go out dating all the time!" he yelled, getting frustrated by these weird questions.

Since when had he thought about stuff like that. Fair enough about University, but not about women. He'd been too busy saving his friends, saving Karakura Town and saving Soul Society all the time.

Ishida smirked. "Its only a given someone of my status would do all these things, I'm turning twenty one as well you know. I was thinking about asking Orihime out, I know she'd say yes," said the Quincy.

Ichigo's eye twitched uncontrollably. _What the hell is his problem? Orihime wouldn't go out with a jerk like him!_

_**Ichigo, its storming in here, please stop,**_ said a voice in his head. It was Zangetsu.

_I can't help it, _he _thinks he can date Orihime when she doesn't even like him!_ thought Ichigo, getting red in the face with anger. His rieatsu rose up uncontrollably, and those around him could feel it. Even those who hadn't fought Hollows before could tell his aura was deathly, i.e. Keigo and Mizuiro.

However, Ishida smirked. "I'm just kidding, Kurosaki. But I have proven my point," he said, continuing forward with the others, with Ichigo standing still watching them walk off.

_What the...what was that feeling? I was just protective of a friend. _

_**You can't hide your true feelings from us, King,** _said that familiar, yet unwanted voice in his head.

_**Can you believe this Zangetsu? **_said the Hollow inside of Ichigo.

**Yes, it was a lie,** replied Zangetsu.

_Well I don't need opinions from you guys unless I'm fighting, _thought Ichigo.

_**Did you know that the sun actually shines in here when she's around? **_asked Hollow.

**Yes, there are two people in your life that both affect us in here. Rukia Kuchiki who made the rain stop for us, and Orihime Inoue, who makes it shine bright,** explained Zangetsu.

"Inoue..." spoke Ichigo fondly, looking up into the bright sky. He smiled and caught up to his friends.

* * *

**A/N: **_Hi all, that's it for now. I know. Not much IchixOri, but, there will be next chapter. Thanks._


	2. Future

**A/N:**_ I just had an idea for this, so deciding to post before Interview with a Shinigami. :D Thanks for the reviews last time, even though there aren't many but meh. _

**At the End of This Fight**

**Chapter 2: Future

* * *

**_Where was he? In a family room. Was this a memory? It was his mother! _

_"Mum?" asked a soft voice. But it didn't come from him, it came from an orange haired boy, at about the age of 12. _

_So maybe it was a memory, but who the hell was that? It was a young girl who certainly wasn't Yuzu or Karin. She had long orange hair and looked to be about the same age as the boy. It didn't matter because he got to see him mum again, after so long. After all the fights and all the heart ache and training...he looked at her and felt at peace. She still hadn't shown her face yet. But then her voice startled him as she walked into the kitchen. The boy was following and seemed to be scowling about something. The girl came up behind the boy and tapped him on the shoulder. She smiled kindly and offered something to him, which he smiled and accepted. _

_What was going on? In fact, as he looked at himself, he realised he looked slightly different or at least, he didn't remember having stormy colored eyes. The woman was rummaging around in the kitchen when the boy finally cracked it and began to yell. _

_"Mum, I'm so sick of this! Why won't you listen to me, damn it?" he exclaimed at which she turned and just as Ichigo was about to see her face..._

"No damn it!" yelled the now present Ichigo, but realised he was back to reality.

The orange haired shinigami frowned. _What the hell just happened?_ he thought, but saw concerned gray and purple orbs staring at him and then there was _him_.

"What the hell just happened to me?" asked Ichigo enraged, pulling Zangetsu out of _his_ arm.

The form standing before him was some kind of arrancer, wasn't it? He had a zanpakuto, so therefore he must be. But he wasn't concerned that Ichigo had pierced his arm, or that blood was flowing freely from the wound.

"You saw something...didn't you?" spoke the arrancer with no emotion.

Ichigo's rieatsu spiked.

"Kurosaki-kun, don't let him anger you," yelled a soft voice from behind him.

"Ichigo, be careful!" yelled his best friend.

"Get back, Inoue. Protect her Rukia!" he exclaimed, pulling back his zanpakuto ready to decapitate the already immobilized arrancer. But just before the sword connected with it, he spoke a few words which would haunt the Substitute Shinigami.

"It was...your future..." Then only the sound of the sword slicing the Arrancer's head off could be heard.

The Arrancer's head toppled off of its body in slow motion as Ichigo's eyes widened. _No...it...can't be! Then why was my mother in this...this vision?_

Ichigo held his zanpakuto at his side with a forlorn look upon his features. He looked at the body of the Arrancer as it faded away to Soul Society where he would forget his existance as it had been, and would be given another life in Rukongai.

A small pressure was felt on his shoulder and he turned to find Rukia smiling up at him; her hand on his shoulder, with Orihime by her side, looking up at Ichigo.

Ichigo nodded. "It's done," he said simply, as he shunpo'd away.

Rukia and Orihime watched him go and looked at each other oddly. Orihime looked troubled and wondered why he left without saying good night.

"Come on Inoue," said Rukia smiling.

"I-I'm sorry, Rukia-san. I always get us into trouble! Its just...I felt him arrive and went to check it out, I knew that you wouldn't be too far behind...I'm very-"

"It's fine, Inoue," said the black haired shinigami. She smiled up at Orihime. "How were you to know that he would use you as a human shield."

Orihime smiled. "Arigatou, Rukia-san."

The two walked onwards, each one of them thinking about the orange haired shinigami, but each for different reasons, yet, the same.

_I hope you're okay, Kurosaki-kun. I wish I could comfort you and hold you until you feel better - _stormy grey eyes looked up into the sky.

_Ichigo...what are you thinking? I hope you're okay, I know something affected you just now and I wish I could help you - _lavender orbs looked up to the sky.

Then both of them looked at each other. "He'll be okay, Inoue," smiled Rukia, somehow knowing what the healer was thinking.

* * *

Ichigo lay his head down on his pillow and looked up at the ceiling with his arms behind his head for comfort.

"Impossible!" he suddenly exclaimed to himself, almost angrily. His chocolate eyes filled with confusion and irritation. He saw his mother, and it upset him that the low level arrancer that was the easiest to kill by far could manage to get him riled up like this.

"What's impossible?" asked a familiar voice.

Ichigo didn't bother to look. And he wasn't in the mood for one of their stupid yelling and fighting games tonight.

"It doesn't matter," he said gloomily and turned his head in the opposite direction.

"Ichigo, you scared Inoue," said Rukia softly.

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly, he had forgotten all about the kind healer. Maybe he did scare her...he didn't want to, but, after seeing his mother like that in a vision that was so vivid he felt it was real who could blame him for being sad, depressive and uncaring?

"I-the arrancer," began Ichigo, turning toward his best friend. After all, she was the only one he could talk to about things like this because she was his best friend and he didn't like to burden others with his feelings. "He said that it was my future...he showed me a vision or what appeared to be a vision..."

He explained what he had saw to Rukia and she was certainly intrigued, but not surprised. After he had finished, she let out a large sigh and smiled knowingly. "Maybe it was someone else, Ichigo, not your mother."

Ichigo sat up angrily. "It was her...I just know it! No one else looks like her!"

Rukia sighed once again and nodded. "I'll let you figure this one out on your own, but I'm going to bed, good night Ichigo. Try not to think about it, okay?" she said smiling kindly.

Ichigo nodded once, but, he couldn't _not_ think about it. To see his mum again like that was torture and he wished he could have seen her face, just once.

* * *

Orihime sat in front of her mirror and slid the brush through her long orange hair; the hair that had been much of a burden to her in her early years at school. The girls would make fun of her and try and pull her hair out all the time because of how beautiful it was and because of the oddly bright color of it.

She was in but a night gown at the moment and she couldn't help think about Ichigo's gloomy, yet, defeated demeanor he had before he left for home tonight. She wondered what had happened. He had seemed to black out for a few moments, but other than that, nothing major had occured apart from him kicking the Arrancer's ass. Her stormy gray eyes glinted from the reflection of the light as tears began to fall. It was so lonely at night time with no one around. She wished she could have company, and every time she thought of these things, the only person she thought of was the orange haired shinigami.

"Kurosaki-kun, I hope you're okay," she said softly to herself.

* * *

Ichigo walked down the halls to find a _relatively_ empty classroom, except, his eyes widened at the sight. Two young children were yelling at each other and...his mother was there. Was he dreaming? She hadn't turned yet but he knew it was her from his vision the other night. She was fumbling around for something in her bag and she was talking to the children. It obviously seemed to be working because they stopped yelling. But this time, she did turn.

It was...it was...Inoue? Ichigo frowned and realised he was seeing things as the children looked nothing like him or the other girl from his vision. Orihime waved for him to come inside.

"Hello Kurosaki-kun, I was just helping those lost siblings," she explained. "They're freshmen in year 7 I believe."

But all words were lost on Ichigo. _What the hell? _**"It was...your future..."** he remembered. He kept staring at her from across the room from the entrance with an odd look on his face.

"K-kuro-Kurosaki-kun?" she stuttered, unable to understand what his odd look was for.

He was about to speak, but couldn't. _It...it was _you_, Inoue...the long orange hair...it was you...  
_

At his realisation his eyes widened and he left without a word.

Orihime sighed and bowed her head sadly. "What did I do?"

Chuckling burst out from behind her and she turned and clutched her chest from an 'almost' heart attack. "Kuchiki-san, don't do that! I think that you might have an alien inside you which wants to kill me, he he he he," she laughed awkwardly.

Rukia sweat dropped. "Ah, no Inoue. I haven't been taken over by an alien...look, you haven't done anything wrong," explained Rukia smiling.

Orihime didn't say anything. "Can I ask you something?" asked Rukia. "Do you...do you care about him?"

Inoue's eyes widened. "Out of all the people to see before you had to leave for Las Noches, you went and saw Ichigo. I'm not blind, Inoue, I can see that you're in love with him," said Rukia smiling. "Its okay to be, its okay! But the truth is, Ichigo probably doesn't think about you that way."

Orihime's heart sank completely. Of course she always knew that she would be rejected by the only person she had ever loved, but she wasn't prepared for it.

"However, Ichigo doesn't think of _anyone_ that way. To him, we're all friends. I'll explain to you why, Inoue. He is blind when it comes to things of this nature, because he has spent so long fighting for Soul Society, for Karakura Town, for his friends...and for you," explained Rukia who walked up close to Orihime and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Rukia's purple orbs drilled into Orihime's with passion and vigor; so much so Orihime was taken aback and her eyes widened. "Don't be disheartened, I understand. You see, I've always thought of a _certain someone_ in a way that I hadn't realised until recently. But I'm aware now, and realised that I always have been deep down. But the thing is, I've noticed that Ichigo treats you a certain way. He doesn't treat you like he would treat me, or Ishida or Chad. Its something deep within him. He doesn't know it yet, but, one day this fight will end. One day, he will have a life."

Orihime couldn't speak. Was Rukia really this intuitive? How could she have possibly known her feelings for Ichigo? But after her thoughts had subsided, she smiled at her friend. They had just gotten that little bit more closer. "Arigatou, Kuchiki-san. You always make me feel better when I'm down!"

The black haired shinigami smiled. "And you always make _everyone_ feel better, Inoue."

Just as they had finished their conversation, some students began to file into the room. At first it was one and then two and then they came in groups and hordes as the bell rang for class to begin.

* * *

He wouldn't believe it...he couldn't. _Damn it, this isn't the time to be thinking about shit like this, I have school..._ began Ichigo. _...and other responsibilities. _But the vision kept playing in his mind constantly. Nothing would stop it. He turned around and looked at Karakura High. He had to go back, he wanted to finish school properly now that Aizen was dead, and Orihime was back.

_Maybe it was mum I saw...and I'm just putting the two and two together, but now that I think about it_, thought Ichigo. _The woman in my vision had hair pins, either side of her face to hold up her hair, and mum didn't have those...only Inoue. _

Ichigo rubbed his hand through his unruly bright orange hair in another realisation. It was her, it was definitely Inoue. But up until now he had never thought of Orihime in such a manner...or had he? ... No! Definitely not.

He ran back to the school grounds with slightly red cheeks. Everything had been simple until that Arrancer had showed up and ruined everything. He hadn't had to think about his mother...or...feelings.

And as Ichigo ran through a few halls, up some stairs and ran around the corner and stopped at the class room entrance, he saw her. She looked up delicately and placed some hair around her ear, and then finally she met his gaze.

"Kurosaki, you're late. Sit down now, we're on page 32 thank you," huffed the teacher, bringing the teen back into the living.

"H-hai, Sensei," stuttered Ichigo, taking is place next to Chad. And at that moment, he realised he had thought what he promised himself he wasn't going to think about Orihime. It was...he was beginning to...well, he was interested now. It was the fact that something like his vision could come true.

Which meant that they were married with...kids. Could he really make a life with Orihime? Could he make her happy? Could he protect her? These thoughts kept popping into his mind, all because of what the Arrancer had done to him. If not for him, he wouldn't have been late to class, he would have had a good night's sleep last night and he _certainly_ wouldn't be thinking of Orihime constantly. He had _never_ thought of her this way. Nope. Nu Uh!

* * *

Rukia sighed as Ichigo walked beside her after a long day at school. He had his book satchel slung over his shoulder like usual with a scowl upon his face.

_I think that's his neutral face..._she thought with a laugh.

"Ichigo, I have to go back to Soul Society tomorrow," explained Rukia.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah."

"But before I go, I want to ask you something," said Rukia, stopping in the middle of the street, causing Ichigo to follow suit and stop whilst looking back at his best friend. "Do you plan on fighting forever?"

Ichigo frowned at this. No, he didn't. He had only began this whole ordeal because he wanted to protect his family and friends, that was all, nothing more. And his whole journey was so he could protect continue to do that.

"Don't lie and say you do. One day you'll be sick of the fighting, the training and the protecting. One day, you'll be sick of traveling from the Real World to Soul Society and back. And that's when you'll realise that you should have jumped at the chance that you had now," explained Rukia, smiling toward Ichigo.

Rukia began to walk again, leaving the stunned Substitute Shinigami behind for a moment. "By the way, Inoue likes to look out at the sunset by the river on nice nights like I think this one will be."

Ichigo scowled. _Why the hell should I care where she hangs out? _but he knew that it was helpful to him. And he always cared.

* * *

Orihime sighed at the state she was in. He hadn't said anything to her today, not a word. He hadn't even looked at her, except for when he turned up at the class room door that morning. Of course, she couldn't dwell. She was just glad that he was okay and nothing bad had happened to Ichigo for him to be missing that long.

As she was getting her dinner ready she realised that it was going to be a beautiful sunset that night. The sun was encased in a beautiful orange and red hue, and clouds were pretty scarce.

"What a night," she smiled and dropped what she was doing.

She grabbed an overcoat and headed to her favourite spot.

A few minutes passed and she had made it just in time.

"Ah! How beautiful!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Tch. It is a bit, isn't it?" said a voice from behind her. She turned to find the man of her thoughts and she smiled; his presence adding to her excitement.

"Kurosaki-kun?" asked Orihime curiously. "What are you doing here?"

Ichigo walked closer to her with his hands in his jean pockets. His white button up T-shirt seemed to stand out in the light the sun was now failing to provide. His eyes never left the dim sun however. "I'm admiring the view, aren't you?" he asked softly.

"H-hai, Kurosaki-kun, I always come here..."

"I know, Rukia told me, but, I've always known. I used to come down here a lot," he said, reminiscently. "But I stopped."

Orihime frowned and walked a bit closer to gauge her friends reaction. "Why?" she asked curiously, her eyes not leaving Ichigo's.

"I saw you down here a couple of times and I realised that the reason I came down here was because I missed my mother," he explained.

Orihime nodded solemnly._ Kurosaki-kun, I'm so sorry, _she thought.

"But when I saw you down here, I had forgotten that you didn't have anyone, just the same as Rukia and Renji and so many other people. So I realised that I should stop wallowing in my sadness because everyone has loss in their life," said Ichigo, and finally set his eye's upon Orihime. He smiled softly.

Orihime's eyes were now cast upon the falling sun now. "Kurosaki-kun...I'm sorry, I ruined your spot!" she exclaimed.

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, you didn't...did you know that you look a lot like my mother Inoue?" he asked.

The healer's eyes widened and she turned to him with her hands clasped together at her chest. "Really?"

Ichigo nodded. "I-I can't explain...I mean, I don't know what I'm doing..."

Suddenly she hugged Ichigo before he could say anything, and his eyes widened like saucers in surprise and...embarrassment. But for some reason, it felt right. He relaxed and lay his arms around her back.

He desperately wanted to say what he had seen last night, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. Ichigo didn't want to scare her off by saying he had a vision of her and that he wanted...well, what did he want? Well, Rukia had been right. She always was most of the time and it really pissed him off. One day the fight would end, but he knew that once that day came he would regret a lot of things if he didn't say what he was feeling right now.

"Inoue," he spoke softly, leaning close toward her right ear.

Orihime involuntarily shivered and she looked up into Ichigo's chocolate orbs. "Hai, Kurosaki-kun?"

"I realised something last night," he spoke solemnly, boring holes into her eyes. "I realised that we've done a lot of things, and we're only just close to finishing school."

Inoue nodded, not understanding where the conversation was going. She knew that Ichigo was sad, and therefore wanted to comfort him in every way possible. He would never really acknowledge her as anything more than a close friend and she knew that she couldn't tell him what her true feelings were toward him so that it didn't make things awkward between them...and so Ichigo wasn't distracted. But despite all that, she felt giddy and excited inside her body because she was being cuddled by Ichigo. Just being close to him like this made her almost feel as though he returned her feelings.

"I think that, its just about time to end this," said Ichigo. Orihime's eyes widened, and she pulled away in surprise.

"W-why, Kurosaki-kun?" she asked.

"Because. I did this all to protect my family at first, but then I got to know Rukia and we became very close friends. Soul Society then found out about how Rukia gave me her powers, which was forbidden, and then I had to go save her. And then there was the incident with the Bounto and the Zanpaku-to incident. But most importantly, when you were captured. I think that would have to be the most challenging fight I ever had, because I had to truly master my Vizared powers. Not only that, but I was so determined to get you back. I couldn't stand the fact that Ulquiorra forced you to go, and also Aizen was going to destroy Karakura Town," explained Ichigo with a determined look on his face, as if he were angry.

Inoue's eyes began to water, but she wouldn't let her tears fall. She began to feel sad for what she had made Ichigo go through because of her.

"Inoue, I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting and I want it to end...will you help me?" he asked, afraid of the answer he might get. His brow furrowed and he leaned down; placing his hands upon Orihime's shoulders. He looked her dead in the eyes, with an almost pleading look and was surprised at what he found within those grey orbs of hers.

Her face was the most serious and almost stoic he'd ever seen.

"Kurosaki-kun," she spoke, her eyes downcast. "You don't need to ask. I'll help you in any way I can, that's what friends are for...right?" she asked, now looking up to meet his gaze. She smiled and her normal self came back, however, she had somehow wished that he was going to say that he liked her or something, but it meant the world to her that he asked for her help.

His hands still rested upon her shoulders and he smiled back. Their faces were still relatively close, but she had to do what she had always wanted to do. She leaned in and pecked him on the lips lightly and pulled away immediately; stepping back a few meters.

Ichigo's eyes widened and his cheeks went beet red. _W-what...was that?_

Orihime smiled sadly and ran all the way home. She didn't stop; not once. _I'm sorry, Kurosaki-kun...have I ruined things due to my selfishness?_

The healer huffed as she stopped at her door, a little out of breath, and fumbled around for her keys. _Oh no..._ she thought. _I didn't leave them...or drop them? _Orihime sighed, still facing the door. _This is karma for my stupid self, maybe the aliens really DO want to kill me...and I thought that they were friendly! Ha!_

"I think you dropped these," said a deep voice from behind her.

Orihime turned slowly at the sound of a jingling in the air. Ichigo smirked and held up her set of keys that she had obviously dropped earlier. She smiled kindly and walked over to where Ichigo was standing.

The shinigami was in the middle of the street. The lamps lit the surroundings as the sun had long since dropped beyond the sky and into the abyss. The light shone brightly and lit up the both of them. They stood about a meter apart with Orihime leaning on one her legs and hands on her hips and Ichigo was still jingling her keys with a knowing look upon his face.

Finally Orihime decided it was time to get her keys back and walked up to him slowly. "Arigatou, Kurosaki-kun," she said and grabbed for the keys, but Ichigo just lifted them higher above his head.

"Tsk, tsk Inoue. I'm afraid you don't get them back until you tell me something," said Ichigo.

The healer frowned and leaned her head to one side in thought. She put her index finger to her pouted lip as she thought really hard as to what Ichigo was talking about, however, came up blank.

"Nani?" asked Orihime, giving up.

Ichigo's smirk went back to a neutral look and he sighed. "Well, you...you really caught me off guard back there Inoue," said Ichigo, scratching the back of his head as he thought back to the kiss she gave him. _Her lips were...soft,_ he thought.

Orihime blushed uncontrollably and now realised that he was talking about the _kiss_.

"Well, I've always...I...I've always loved you, Kurosaki-kun!" exclaimed very fast. "Now please, can I have my keys back?"

Ichigo's eyes widened once again at the surprises Orihime just kept throwing at him. Because of this, he held out the keys and she grabbed them quickly; leaving him yet again to think about what had just occurred. _Damn her...I wanted to talk to her to sort things out in my mind so that I stopped thinking about her this way, but, it's only made things worse. And now I know things that I _wish_ I didn't know._

But the truth was that up until now, thoughts of another women in a romantic way weren't even in his thought pool at all. In fact, it had only been recently he had noticed how Orihime's hair shampoo smelled distinctly like strawberries. It had only been recently that he had been thinking in his dark world that if there was anyone out of all the people he knew to make a life with, it would be Orihime Inoue. Rukia and him were very close, shared everything and he would certainly die for her and protect her always, however, he could never be with someone like her. It wasn't right. He thought of her like a sister and couldn't imagine anything else. Tatsuki, well, definitely not, Chizuru was a lesbian and most of the other women he knew were in Soul Society.

Something had stood out about Orihime the first time he had met her. Her kindness and her ability to help others in need before her own. His need to protect her all the time was because she was so vulnerable and unable to defend herself because of the traits she had been born with. She wasn't made for fighting. But the fact was that when she was around, he seemed to scowl less, and hate the world less. In fact, she made him calm when she was there and empty when she wasn't. And that decided all these feelings for Ichigo then and there.

_The vision was true, and if it wasn't, I'll make it come true!_ he thought to himself as he made his way back to his own house. And that was it; that was how it all began.

* * *

**A/N: **_Well that's it for that one. I know its way too long for drabbles, but I did say its sort of a mix, didn't I? Sorry if you think they're out of character, but, I think that is how it would really pan out, because lets face it. Ichigo is so bloody DAFT! I mean, when it comes to women of course, he always gets embarrassed and acts weird. Lol. But I do truly think that Orihime and Ichigo are meant to be together in the anime/manga as their characters are just so good for each other. Ichigo is angry and scowls and Orihime is kind and makes him feel better. They were both picked on at school for their hair color, Orihime doesn't have a lot of power so needs to be protected and Ichigo is the protector. And once he finds out that she's in love with him I think he'll give it a go, don't you think? But I also like Rukia too, which is why I put her in my fics, not just as a side thing. But Rukia truly is just a friend, even in the anime. Anyway, I've had my rant. Please read & review. _

_Bullet2tm  
_


	3. Bloody Girls Night Part I

**A/N: **_Here is the next chappie for this one. :D Will try to fit in some RukiaxRenji in this one, well, in the second part anyway._

**At The End of This Fight**

**Chapter 3: Bloody Girl's Night**

**Part I**

* * *

She was humming. The black haired shinigami was humming, to a tune she had always loved since she was a child. She couldn't remember who had first introduced her to the song and she knew that someone had hummed it to her a very long time ago, but, she just couldn't remember who. And now she was humming.

Kuchiki Rukia was walking along the quiet moonlit streets of Karakura Town toward Orihime Inoue's house, humming the tune she couldn't get out of her head. She was excited for some reason. It was Friday night, no more school and Ichigo was on duty tonight to protect the town and she wasn't joining him. In fact, she was going to her good friend Inoue's house to enjoy some much needed rest and they were going to watch a movie.

For one night, she could enjoy the pleasures of being a human, and then tomorrow she was going to meet Renji. Was that why she was excited?

_What? Me? Excited to see that idiodic red haired pineapple head?_ she thought. _Maybe I am..._

"Kuchiki-san!" exclaimed Inoue, placing her arms around the black haired Shinigami's neck with delight.

"Inoue, its good to see you," said Rukia with a smile, placing her shopping bag on Orihime's coffee table to find that there was food all laid out ready for them.

Rukia's left eye twitched at all the food. "Inoue," she said in low tones. "W-why is there so much food here?"

Orihime smiled with her hands to her mouth in excitement. "I was so excited for our girls night, I made all this food for us! Don't worry, there is some plain food for you too!"

Rukia sighed with relief and in actual fact, she was very hungry at the moment.

"Ichigo said he would pop by with the icecream," said Rukia, as she dug into a rice cake. The orange haired woman nodded in an excited manner.

Rukia sat on the couch munching, when she heard a knock at the door. Orihime ran to the door and opened it with a smile.

"Kurosaki-kun! You shouldn't be here you know, this is girls only!" exclaimed Orihime with a stern look, but held out her hand waiting for the icecream to be passed to her.

The Substitute Shinigami raised his eye brows. "I know that Inoue, you kept going on and on about it at lunch. Rukia asked me to bring you guys some icecream."

Orihime began to pout at up at him, which made his eyes soften at how cute she looked right now. "Okay I'm going...here's the icecream."

He passed a plastic bag to Orihime and as he began to leave, he noticed what Orihime was wearing. She wore pink short shorts and a tank top which made her boob's bulge out considerably more than they usually did.

"What the hell are you wearing Hime? Jesus, I'm leaving," he said with a blush before he decided to stay the night and ruin Rukia's night off.

"Get out of here baka!" yelled Rukia, who had now arrived at the door with a threatening look in her eye. "And stop being a pervert!"

"Ow! You bitch!" yelled Ichigo as Rukia punched him in the arm roughly. "Jeez, I'm leaving."

Rukia slammed the door in his face, which caused Orihime to gasp in horror. The kind healer opened the door quickly with guilt on her face. "I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun, I didn't mean to sound mean when I said that you shouldn't be here, and Rukia slammed the door in your face because of me!"

Ichigo, whom had been walking off turned and smiled with a shake of his head. "Don't apologise, it was _her_ fault, not yours," said Ichigo, eying the black haired midget behind Orihime who was also staring daggers back at him. "Have fun, Inoue. I've got work to do."

Orihime nodded and smiled. "See you later, Kurosaki-kun."

Finally she closed the door to find Rukia staring at her oddly.

"Are you okay...Kuchiki-san?" asked Orihime hesitantly.

Rukia sighed as she sat back down in her spot on the couch and reached for another rice cake. "Why don't you ever call me Rukia, Inoue?" asked Rukia. "And why do you call Ichigo by his last name as well?"

Orihime didn't answer straight away, and grabbed a rice cake filled with wasabi and red bean paste. She thought for a moment.

"Well, I guess, I didn't know if you wanted me to and I didn't know you well before..."

"But you do now, so why don't you call me Rukia? It just sounds so formal," explained Rukia, swatting her hand at Orihime with a smile. "It reminds me of nii-sama."

Orihime gasped in realisation. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Its fine Inoue, honestly, Ichigo always said you apologised too much," laughed Rukia.

"Kurosaki-kun talks about me?" asked Orihime curiously. Rukia nodded with a smile.

"Of course _Ichigo_ does," said Rukia, taking another bite of her rice cake. "Of course, you'll have to start calling him by his first name if you're ever going to go out with one another, you can't keep calling each other by your last names."

Orihime nodded her head and took a bite of her roll, only to spit it out in shock and realisation at what her friend just said. "Nani?"

"Well, you know that Ichigo was going to ask you out right?" asked Rukia, mischeviously know that Ichigo was going to do no such thing, however, her face didn't mimick her evil intentions.

"Oh," said Orihime quietly as she began to think about Rukia's comments.

"Oh, is that all you have to say? Oh?" asked Rukia, shaking her head in disapproval. "You asked me to train you to become stronger, and yet, your personality will always be the same. You have to become stronger in the heart too and that means over coming your fears and to do things that you wouldn't have done before."

Orihime nodded. "I..I see," said Orihime, taking this all in slowly. "But, Kurosaki-kun and I haven't been talking much lately."

Rukia raised her eye brows. "Why is that?" she asked with her mouth full.

The young healer sighed. "Well, a couple of months ago, I sort of-" began Orihime, but didn't finish her sentence.

There was something wrong. She turned slightly and could feel a bad rieatsu, one she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Orihime?" asked Rukia, her violet orbs full of concern as she dropped her rice cake onto the table and walked to Orihime and that's when she noticed an uninvited guest. Her eyes widened in surprise and shock.

**_You will pay for what you've done, you disgusting human,_** said the voice.

Rukia quickly ran to the door. She had to get home to get her chappy pills, she didn't have it with her at the moment, however, she was knocked back roughly and slammed into Orihime's wall which was adjacent to the door. She cried out in pain on the floor and brought her hands to her back, rubbing it quickly to ease the pain.

The figure that had now appeared was a Hollow, but, it appeared to be similar to the one that Orihime had first seen at her home those many years ago. The one who was her brother. Sora. But it was all wrong, like it was mimicked poorly. It had a snake like tail, long black hair and the mask was ghostly white with its face almost similar to Sora's.

Orihime's eyes widened as tear fell freely from her face.

_**And now I'm going to punish you for what you've done,**_ it said, as it looked at Rukia's injured body.

Its enlongated claws went for Rukia, however, Orihime's quick thinking allowed her to summon her abilities to shield; sheilding Rukia from the attack. The black haired shinigami tried to get up, but her back was definitely bruised.

Orihime looked to her friend and could see she was injured, so she quickly summoned the healing part of her ability and they began to heal Rukia promptly. The orange haired woman ran toward Rukia, but was knocked back, hard.

She made some sort of 'eek' sound before landing on her back behind the up-turned couch and considered herself lucky. Orihime got up and got ready to summon Tsubaki.

The Hollow looked angered and kept staring at Orihime's abilities that were now healing and shielding the girl he wanted to attack.

Rukia observed the Hollow as she silently lay on the floor. She could feel her back healing nicely but couldn't help but notice some commotion outside. It was two or three Hollows outside, obviously Ichigo was taking care of them. But, was it a distraction?

Rukia jerked her head back to the Hollow in front of her and then she realised that the thing before her was more than a Hollow, it was a Vasto Lorde, wasn't it? It had to be, it wasn't as powerful as an Arrancer or even Espada, however, it was smarter than a Hollow or Minas Grande but not as powerful as a Minas Grande. But then again, she was measuring by the rieatsu it was giving off.

Suddenly the Hollow's claws lerched forward and smashed Orihime's shield; luckily for Rukia, she was healed and quickly rolled out of the way. "Orihime, get Ichigo!" exclaimed the black haired woman.

Orihime shook her head. "No, I can't leave you Kuchiki-I mean Rukia."

Rukia shook her head fiercely. "There's no time, just go!"

Orihime shook her head and re-summoned her hair pins, causing the shield to form in front of Orihime as she dashed in front of Rukia. "You go home, I can hold it for a little while," said Orihime with a determined look in her eye. Obviously the words Rukia spoke to her earlier were setting in.

Rukia shook her head and put an arm on her friend's shoulder. "No you baka, it smashed through your shield before," said Rukia in quiet tones.

The orange haired healer looked worried. "No I can't-"

And while they were discussing who was staying and who wasn't, the Hollow smashed through the shield once more, slashing through Orihime's side and grabbed Rukia. The black haired Shinigami kicked and struggled, but it was no use. The claws tightened around her small frame to a point where she could no longer move, nor feel her limbs anymore and soon, blackness filled her vision and she passed out, however, not before hearing Orihime's blood curdling scream of anguish and pain. It was the same painful scream she had when people she loved and cared about were being hurt. Rukia took one last look at her dying friend whom was lying in a pool of her own blood.

_Oh Inoue. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry._

* * *

Ichigo struck down the last Hollow with an odd look on his face. What happened just now? There had been no activity for ages and the previous nights were pretty quiet, and then suddenly three or four Hollows just appeared at one time - they weren't measley weak Hollows either.

"Oi," said a voice behind him.

Ichigo's neutral face turned quickly into a scowl at noticing who's rieatsu had just appeared.

"What do _you_ want, idiot?" asked Ichigo, before turning around and dodging a punch to his face.

The red headed shinigami smirked. "Well, at least you're still..."

Abarai Renji stopped mid-sentence as could tell something was wrong. Something wasn't right. He had been wanting to surprise Rukia tonight because she thought he was still in Soul Society. He had been tracking her rieatsu but it suddenly vanished as a faint scream filled the air.

Both men dashed toward the sound, but Ichigo could already tell who it was, and then his worst fears began to fill his mind.

Ichigo kicked the door open quickly. He scanned the room as Renji walked by him, looking around frantically. They spotted a lamp that was smashed on the floor and the couch was over turned. The orange haired shinigami's heart began to race, just what _had_ happened here?

"Ichigo..." began Renji, and as Ichigo turned to his friend and where he was looking.

He shunpo'd to that very spot and then he realised his worst fear had now come to reality.

Orihime Inoue was lifeless on the floor, in a pool of her own blood. Her hair pins were in tact, but she wasn't. She had a large gash along the side of her stomach, it didn't appear to be deep enough to cause death, but the blood that she had probably lost _could_.

"Inoue!" yelled Ichigo, as he lifted her up quickly with his right arm underneath her knees and the other around the back of her neck. In seconds, Renji was left at the scene alone.

"Just what happened here?" he asked himself. Ichigo had obviously gone back to his father's house to get Orihime fixed up, but where was Rukia?

He looked at the blood that was staining the carpet with worry and concern. Abarai Renji had specially asked Byakuya to have tonight and tomorrow off, but not for this. It was all for _her_.

_Rukia, where are you? What happened?_ he thought.

The red head ran out the door and shunpo'd all the way to Ichigo's house, he needed answers, and Orihime was going to give them to him.

* * *

"Do something! She's dying, and you're going slow!" yelled Ichigo at his father.

Isshin ignored his son. He was the doctor in the family, so he was the one in charge of saving this girl. He had already addressed the wound, disinfected it, stitched it and wrapped it in a bandage. Now he was checking her blood level, but, it wasn't a good sign and the girl was getting paler by the minute.

He couldn't look. Ichigo had promised to protect her, and what had he done? He got distracted with those damn Hollows to notice, and then he realised his mistake. It had been a distraction all along, hadn't it? Just who had done this, and where was Rukia?

_I hope you're okay, Rukia._

But he couldn't think about that now because Orihime's life was on the line and the guilt was weighing heavily on his heart. He was back in his body now, so that it didn't seem weird to his sisters who were now helping their father treat the woman in front of him.

Ichigo could see her pale skin, he could tell she was dying. She had obviously been trying to protect Rukia but why hadn't Rukia been able to protect them?

_That's right, she left her chappy pills at home,_ he thought.

"Her blood level is falling quickly..." began Isshin, but as he spoke, the heart monitor grabbed his attention. "Her heart rate is decreasing."

Isshin quickly put his ear against Orihime's mouth to see if she was breathing, thankfully she was.

"Alright, she's going to be okay, but she needs blood," said Isshin, he turned to Ichigo with bloody hands and blood was on his white doctors coat as well.

"What is her blood type Ichigo?" he asked as he turned to his son, who was facing the door.

"AB negative," said Ichigo quickly.

He only knew that because she told him once.

_"What's this, Kurosaki-kun?" asked Orihime innocently, pointing to a bracelet sitting on his desk. _

_She had met him at his house because they were doing a project together for school - or more like Orihime would do most of the work. _

_"Oh, its my blood bracelet. Dad got it for me when I was a kid, but I never wear it. I think Yuzu was trying to dress Kon in jewellery and she needed some more," laughed Ichigo, as he rubbed the back of his messy orange locks with his hand awkwardly. _

_"Oh. Why do you need one?" asked Orihime inquisitively, as she went to sit on Ichigo's bed, her hands clasped together in her lap politely. _

_Ichigo turned in his chair toward her and raised his eye brow. "You know, so that if you need an ambulance, they know your blood type," he explained, as if she should have known the answer. _

_"Oh I don't have one, does everyone have one?" asked Orihime, with a curious look in her eye. _

_Ichigo shook his head. "Nar. But they should. What's your blood type?" _

_"I think...my brother told me once. It was like the alphabet, with two letters," laughed Orihime as she tipped her head slightly to the left in concentration and thought. _

_She pouted slightly as she tried to remember. _

_"AB?" asked Ichigo. _

_"YES! That's it Kurosaki-kun. AB negative. How did you know?" asked Orihime, with a bright smile. _

_"Its the only blood type I know with two consecutive letters," said Ichigo. "Didn't you know that?" _

_Orihime shook her head furiously. "Nope. Thank you Kurosaki-kun! You should be a doctor like your dad!"_

_Ichigo's eyes widened, placing his hand up in protest. "No way, Inoue. I'd rather die I think."_

_Orihime stopped her antics, her smile fading. "Don't say that Kurosaki-kun, because everyone would miss you. _I_ would miss you."_

His memory stopped at that scene that he remembered from earlier this year. _I'd miss you too, Inoue. I'd miss you a lot. _

Ichigo looked on at his family working away. Yuzu had grabbed what appeared to be a blood packet and placed it onto one of the steel poles they use to feed drips into people, and after Isshin's nod, she placed a needle into the bottom of a tube and connected it to the blood packet; feeding it into Orihime's arm.

"That should do it," said Isshin.

Once the packet was drained dry, her blood level began to go back up. It wasn't at a healthy level just yet, but it would certainly help.

Isshin turned to his son and grabbed his arm; pulling him out into the hallway and out of the emergency room. His father's eyes were serious for a change as he placed both his hands on his son's shoulders, his eyes level with Ichigo's.

"What happened?" asked Isshin.

Ichigo frowned because he knew that he didn't know the answer. "I-I don't know..." stuttered the boy.

Isshin sighed and let go of his son. He took a few steps away from Ichigo.

"Be careful Ichigo, if you want to start a life after all the mess you were thrust into, the point is to _protect_ the one you want to be with, not allow her to be killed," said Isshin sternly.

Ichigo couldn't believe what was coming out of his father's mouth. Was he insinuating what he thought he was?

"What the hell Dad? I didn't just _let_ her get injured you know, I was fighting Hollows damn it! He distracted me, and I fell for it. And now Rukia has gone missing! So don't frickin' tell me that I _allowed_ her to get injured or killed or what ever!"

Isshin turned to his son and chuckled. "I know that son, but you didn't say she _wasn't_ the one you wanted to be with. One day your fight will end, you'll want to get a job and continue on like a normal human. When that happens, you want her to be there, don't you?"

Ichigo looked away from his father with a frustrated sigh.

"'Sif I'd tell you something like that!" exclaimed Ichigo as he pushed open the doors to the emergency room and stormed inside.

Isshin smiled knowingly to himself. "Well, I know I did, didn't I Masaki?" The old man chuckled and followed his son inside.

* * *

He could hear voices inside the Kurosaki Clinic. He'd been trying to track the thing that took Rukia, but, there wasn't a trace. Nothing. It was frustrating the hell out of him and he couldn't take it any longer.

He could hear the happy voice of Orihime so he knew she was awake now, despite how weak she sounded. He slammed open the doors and walked in with a neutral look on his face.

The Kurosaki Clinic was small and was only really fit for GP work so they had to make a bed for her in Isshin's office, where there was a small bed only fit for him to examine people. Orihime lay on top of it weakly with a smile at his arrival.

"Abarai-kun," spoke Orihime, and after that she coughed a bit. "How are-"

"I'm fine Orihime, where is Rukia? Who took her?" asked the red head, getting straight to the point.

The others surrounding Orihime all narrowed their eyes at his forwardness, and Ichigo especially began to scowl at the shinigami.

"Lay off her, will you?" exclaimed the fiery girl with black short spikey hair as she raised a fist in the air threateningly. Yes, Tatsuki Arasawa was called, and so was Uryuu, Chad and even Keigo.

"I-its okay," said Orihime softly, as she turned her grey orbs toward Renji seriously.

He was much closer now, he was standing barely two metres away from her bed now and she could see how much he was hurting; how worried he was. She was too, after all, it was her fault everything had happened wasn't it?

"I'm not sure where she is, however, she was saying to me it wasn't a normal Hollow. It said it was going to punish me and then it looked at Rukia-san, like she was prey...I'm sorry Abarai-kun!" exclaimed Orihime as tears ran down her face with guilt.

_Yes, it was my fault. I should have been stronger, Abarai-kun. I should have been strong enough to fend it off,_ thought Orihime, darkly.

"Damn it, why didn't you yell for someone? Why didn't you use your shield thing to protect her?" yelled Renji, getting closer to the bed in an accusing manner.

"Hey! Don't you speak to her like that, you bastard!" exclaimed Ichigo, standing in between the bed and the hot headed shinigami as he pushed Renji back, hard.

"Can't you see that she tried?" exclaimed Uryuu from behind Ichigo, as he pushed up his glasses with a dignified glance at Orihime.

"I don't care. She's gone, I was trying to track her but there's nothing! _She_ was the last to see Rukia-"

"I'm sorry, Abarai-kun," cut in Orihime sadly.

The orange haired healer pulled the covers off and turned with her legs over the side of the bed. She placed her feet on the cold floor of the doctors office and stood on her feet. Her face winced with pain but she stood, strong.

"Don't, Inoue, you can't get up yet!" exclaimed Ichigo, coming to her side quickly. He placed an arm around her lower back and another on her arm, but she shook her head which made Ichigo pull back and let her go with a frustrated sigh.

"I tried Abarai-kun, I really did," she said, as she took a step toward the red head, but her eyes never faltered from his. "But you're right, I wasn't strong enough. I wish that it were me that were captured, and Rukia-san the one here in my place with her friends and you; safe."

At this point, Orihime's tears kept flowing, but she didn't sob, nor did she cry. Her grey orbs were filled with guilt and pain for Abarai and everyone that she had let down tonight.

"I will get her back for you Abarai-kun, I promise," she smiled as she moved closer.

Abarai Renji couldn't believe this girl. After being injured to the point of dying, yelling at her and accusing her of not trying hard enough, she continued to smile. She was moving closer and as she came toward him his eyes widened when she wrapped her arms around his waist in a soft hug. His body stiffened but eventually he sort of embraced her back.

"I'm sorry Abarai-kun, but I promise I'll try harder next time, please forgive me," sobbed Orihime as she lay the side of her face against his chest.

Renji could never be angry at this girl, no one could. He never was really angry with her, it was more at himself for not being able to track the thing that took Rukia and for Inoue being injured in the process of protecting her friend. He felt guilty for the way he spoke to her, but he hoped that this was acknowledgement that he never meant to say those things the way he did.

Orihime pulled away and gasped in pain; holding her side quickly as blood began to seep out through the bandages.

"Owie," pouted Orihime.

"Are you satisfied now you bastard?" exclaimed Ichigo who came to the orange haired woman's side quickly, lifting her in his arms promptly and placing her back into the bed. "Don't leave this bed again, until I say, got it?"

Orihime nodded, with a small smile. "Thank you, Ichigo-kun."

The orange haired Substitute Shinigami smiled softly at the kind girl. And although the girl promised to get Rukia back, he wouldn't allow her to get hurt. He wouldn't allow her to go near that thing again. _He_ would be the one to get Rukia back, that was for sure.

And Renji was going to apologise, or he was going to pummel him to a pulp for speaking to her that way. He snapped his head toward Renji with a scowl and nodded toward the door.

He looked to Uryuu, Chad and Keigo as well in which they nodded, following Ichigo out into the hall.

Orihime watched them leave and looked to her best friend.

"Don't worry Hime, they'll be back," said Tatsuki with a smile, as she place a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Tatsuki-chan, do you think I will have the courage to defeat the Hollow?" asked Orihime with a questioning look upon her face.

The boistrous woman chuckled. "Oh Hime, I think that what ever you put your mind to you can do. But I don't want you to," said Tatsuki, sternly. "You've been through enough and you're not in a position to do anything at the moment."

Inoue looked away and down at her hands. She stared down at her palms with a frown.

_I have to find you, Rukia-san. _

_**And now I'm going to punish you for what you've done.**_

The words drummed through her head over and over and the image of the Hollow clearly in her head now. The way it had zoned in on them. It knew exactly where to appear and who to capture. Did it know them?

* * *

Violet orbs blinked; her retinas adjusting to the dim light slowly. _Where am I? Oh god, Inoue!_ she thought as she desperately looked around the room to find it empty. Just where was she?

The small black haired shinigami sat up. She seemed to be on top of a single bed, it was hard as a rock, as if it was hundreds of years old. She was in some sort of dank and dark old room, was she in a house?

When she had finally adjusted her eyes properly, she realised she was still in Karakura Town. A window told her that. In front of her were steel bars as if it were some sort of cell, but, she could tell by walking up to it and feeling them that it had been newly constructed. They weren't meant to be there.

"Good, you're awake...Kuchiki Rukia," said a deep voice.

She turned suddenly to be graced with a hand around her neck tightly. He pushed her back and fell onto the bed, hard. She rubbed her neck and didn't give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

"You bastard, where am I?"

"Why, you're in Karakura Town. I just haven't decided what to do yet. You see, Orihime and yourself, you seem to think you're doing the world a kindness by protecting this town. Orihime Inoue, what a beauty. She can heal by summoning her hair pins and can reject all that she wants to reject, for example, bringing someone from the dead. And _you_. You think that you can strike people down, being a Shinigami and you even brought humans into your little band of theives. And I say _theives_ because _Orihime Inoue_ is a theif."

Rukia's eyes widened. How could anyone think that about someone so kind?

"Inoue is nothing like that! She is kind and thoughtful, she would rather die than let someone else be hurt, she would save anyone she could-" began Rukia madly, her eyes narrowed with anger.

_Who does he think he is? _

"But that is exactly why she is a theif," he interrupted. He came out of the shadows to reveal himself.

Rukia observed the man, whom appeared to look human. He wore jeans and a black suit jacket and had brown, definitive eyes. His face stern, cold and calculating. Evil.

"A human, with the gift of rejecting what she chooses, even life itself? Healing _and_ attacking?" he said with spite. "And then there's you. You transferred your powers to a human?"

Rukia didn't understand. Just who was this man and what does this have to do with him? How did he know all this?

"I have been watching you, Kuchiki Rukia. And so far, you don't deserve to live. But before I kill you, I must lure the girl here so I can kill you both at the same time," he said with an evil smirk; one that Rukia would have liked to wipe of his face violently.

"And how are you going to do that?" asked Rukia with a curiosity. Just what was he? Was he from Hueco Mundo? Was he from Soul Society? Was he human?

The man turned his head slightly. All his appearances pointed to human, he was attractive from a human perspective with light smooth skin, dark grey obs, long brown hair, tied into a loose pony tail and stood higher than Ichigo, or so Rukia thought.

One of his hands was placed inside one of his trouser pockets while the other was sitting lightly against his leg. He was confident, and that's what scared Rukia. Because he was confident that he could kill them.

"I know you're just trying to get information from me, but I'll tell you anyway because you're going to die," began the man, his grey irises transfixed on her violet ones.

"When she falls to sleep tonight, a Hollow will appear. Inoue Orihime will be determined to save you, Rukia, and she will follow it here and when she does...I'll be waiting."

This seemed to make him very happy. The prospect of him killing the two women actually made him happy? How he could control these Hollows amazed Rukia but it also scared her to death - because if he was right, Orihime and herself would die tonight, and there wasn't a damn thing anyone could do.

Rukia's thoughts took a dark turn. _If he's right and Orihime wants to save me, she won't tell anyone because she thinks she would just be a burdon to Ichigo. Oh Inoue! Don't be foolish, just leave me to die,_ she thought, shaking her head.

"Yes," said the man, looking to the helpless girl in front of him. "Be filled with despair. I would say 'don't worry it will be quick', but that would be a lie."

He opened a door to the cell and closed it behind him, making sure it was locked.

"And this time, I won't fail."

* * *

**A/N: **_That's it people. Part 1, stay tuned for Part 2. Please read and review. _


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